Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals contains a series of movie segments and activities to assess or practice grammar points through fun, challenging exercises. Here you will find the movie segments, the lesson plans, printable worksheets with answer key for each activity, and the tips to develop your own grammar activities with the DVDs you have at home. New activities are posted regularly. Teaching grammar with movie segments is inspiring and highly motivating.

Mar 31, 2009

This movie has a touching message and is a dramatic comedy. The main character has to go through several tasks in order to become a better person and receive an ultimate gift as inheritance. This scene is perfect to practice the use of conjunctions, in this case contrasting the use of so x because and since.

I. Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1. Should the man always pay the check when he takes his girlfriend to a restaurant? Why (not)?
2. What would you do if you invited someone for dinner in an expensive restaurant and you found out you didn’t have money to pay the check?

3. Would you ask for expensive dishes in a restaurant to impress your girlfriend (boyfriend) even if you couldn’t spend a lot?

4. What would you do if someone invited you to go to a very expensive restaurant and he asked you to pay the check?

5. What would you do if you found out you didn’t have money to pay for the dinner you have just finished eating?

II.Watch the video segment and combine both sentences with so, because or since.

The waiter was amazed.
The young couple had ordered pricey wine and lobster.
1. (Because) …………………………………………………………………………………..

Mar 20, 2009

This is the opening scene of this funny movie with excellent characters. I left the answers to the exercises on the blog post just to help you out, but of course you'll have to delete this information when you prepare the students' exercise sheets. This is the opening scene of the movie, with a great song. I prepared a lesson plan to practice dangling modifiers with visual input to contextualize the topic.

These ladies are the main characters:

Andrea and MirandaA. Discuss the following questions with a partner:

1. How should people behave in a job interview?2. What should they wear?3. What is the perfect boss like?4. How would you deal with an extremely impolite boss if the job was very good pay and extremely important for your career? Justify your answer.

Watch the movie segment and decide whether the following sentences have dangling modifiers. Write (C) if the statement is correct and (W) if it is wrong.

1 - After getting dressed, Andrea kissed her boyfriend goodbye. (C)

2 - Going to her job interview, the waitress handed Andrea a bagel for breakfast. (W)

3 - While eating a sandwich, she took the subway to work. (C)

4 - Surprised by the message the taxi driver sent, a lot of things had to be done in a hurry. (W)

5 - After asking if someone had eaten an onion bagel, Andrea checked whether her breath was fine. (W)

6 - Before reaching her office, nobody but her assistant talked to Miranda. (W)

7 - While going to her office, the employees avoided walking or staying where Miranda was. (W)

8 - Sitting in the waiting room, Miranda called Andrea for the interview. (W)

Now revise the dangling modifiers and write a possible correction.

Possible answer key:

Ex:
1 - Correct
2 - Going to her job interview, Andrea bought a bagel for breakfast.
3 - Correct
4 – Surprised by the message the taxi driver sent, Emily had to do a lot of things in a hurry.
5 – After being asked if someone had eaten an onion bagel, Andrea checked…
6 – Before reaching her office, Miranda didn’t talk with anyone but her assistant.
7 – While going to her office, Miranda made her employees avoid walking…
8 – Sitting in the waiting room, Andrea was called for the interview.

How to prepare your own video activity:

- Select a scene with a lot of actions
- Prepare sentences about the sentences with dangling modifiers
- Some of the sentences should be correct
- Students watch the segment and decide how to correct the wrong sentences

Mar 10, 2009

This is a great, funny scene for the students to practice imperative forms. The lesson plan below provides them with plenty of opportunities for free communication, controlled oral practice and writing as well. Hitch, the character played by Will Smith, gives lots of advice using the grammar point and the topic is extremely familiar to everyone, especially teens. I hope you like it.

A. Talk to a partner about the following questions:

1. How do you feel when you go on a first date with someone?

2. What are the basic rules you follow on a first date?

3. What are the signs that your date is not interested in you?

4. What do you do when you observe that?B. Give 3 (three) pieces of advice to someone who is going on a first date to the
following places. Don’t repeat them. Make sure you use imperative forms.

To a photograph exhibition

1. ……………………………………………………………….....

2. ………………………………………………………………….

3. ………………………………………………………………….

To a night club

1. ………………………………………………………………….

2. ………………………………………………………………….

3. …………………………………………………………………

To the movies

1. ………………………………………………………………….

2. ………………………………………………………………….

3. ………………………………………………………………….
C. Read the alternatives below and guess which ones are recommended on a
first date according to Hitch, the counselor.

1. When you go to a photograph exhibition on a first date…

a. Be the real you
b. Give her plenty of space
c. Stay next to your date when she lingers on a picture.
d. Maintain visual contact all the time.
e. Try to be as funny as possible.
2.When you go to a night club…

a. Dance all the time.
b. Walk a little when you leave the club.
c. Ask her/him what she thought about the show.
d. Look at her mouth when you are talking to each other
e. Listen to what she is saying and respond.

Mar 1, 2009

This segment is excellent for the students to practice the future perfect tense. The segment is thought-provoking and chilling. The students have to use their imagination to predict the future.
Discuss the following questions with a partner:

1 - Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Justify your answer.

2 - Do you think mankind will ever discover a cure for cancer?

3 - Will human beings be free from diseases in the future? Why (not)?

4 - What would a city like New York look like if all of its inhabitants had to evacuate it in a hurry?

5 - What would you do if you and your best friend could be alone in New York for a week, without any other inhabitants around? Would you enjoy this experience? What would you do there?

Now imagine that NY City had to be completely evacuated because of a very destructive virus. Check what you believe would happen to NY if such situation did happen.

( ) The streets would become extremely filthy.

( ) People would abandon their cars everywhere.

( ) Wild animals would escape from the zoo to look for food around the city.

( ) Animals would take control of the city.

( ) Some people would hide in the buildings to steal stores and banks.

( ) Life in NY would become a complete chaos.

( ) Power would go off.

( ) People wouldn't drive their cars because of the lack of gas.

( ) Buildings would be destroyed by the angry population.

Now watch the movie segment and pretend you are the main character in the movie, the one played by Will Smith. Imagine that you could have warned Dr. Alice Krippin about the consequences of her unfortunate discovery. Tell her what will have happened to NY within three years from now (by the year 2012) if she tests her discovery on human beings.

Ex:

By the year 2011, NY streets will have become completely filthy.

People will have abandoned their cars everywhere.

Wild animals will have escaped from the zoo to look for food around the city.

How to develop your own video activity

- Select a scene that takes place in the future, preferably with a pessimistic view of the future.

- Ask the students to observe the changes that will have taken place on Earth.

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Movie Segments for Warm-ups and Follow-ups

A little about myself

I'm a teacher at Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil. I'm a Branch Coordinator and Teacher Trainer as well. I really like movies and seeing them with "different" eyes, trying to see how I can use them in my classroom. Recently, I have dedicated my ideas to grammar activities with movie segments because, apparently, teachers use movies for many purposes, but grammar. Working with movie segments fosters students' production and interest. I truly believe that grammar exercises should be attractive. I have just developed a new blog for movie segments to enhance topic based classes, focusing on conversation, listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. If you have suggestions for the blogs and the activities, just say it!